Thursday, May 1, 2014

Moon Chronicles Pricing!?

Moon Chronicles is nearly ready for launch on the Nintendo 3DS, which is very exciting. We would like to take this opportunity to hear your feedback on pricing, as the episodic nature of Moon Chronicles is unique for the Nintendo eShop.What is the Game?Before we get into pricing, let me give you some important information on what Moon Chronicles is, and what our episodic approach means.Season one of Moon Chronicles is a remastering of Renegade Kid's award-winning Nintendo DS title, Moon, which now features enhanced visuals, audio, enemy AI, and all running at a silky-smooth 60 frames per second with 3D on or off.Season one is split into 4 separate episodes, and each episode is very close in gameplay length and content: approximately 2 - 4 hours per episode, depending on your approach.A La Carte and Season PassYou will be able to purchase each episode separately, when they become available this year, a la carte style.When episode 2 is launched, later this year, you will also have an option to purchase a season pass which includes the remaining episodes (2, 3, and 4) for a single lower price.This gives you a chance to purchase episode 1 to see if you like the game before committing to buying the entire season. If you like episode 1, you will be able to make an additional purchase for the season pass.If you are not ready to commit to a season pass, you will be able to purchase just episode 2.How Much Will You Pay?Here's what we'd like to hear from you:1. How much will you pay for each episode, in US Dollars?2. How much will you pay for the season pass (episodes 2, 3, and 4), in US Dollars?** Please add your feedback below, in the comments. **If you have any questions, please put them in the comments below and I will make changes to this post if extra clarification is needed anywhere.Thank you!Jools

Well, to be fair it is more like 2 - 4 hours as there are secrets to find, which unlock a VR training mission, as well as three difficulty levels to replay each of the 5 chapters. So, you can spend a lot of time with the game if you're so inclined.

I can't say I'm a fan of the episodic model but I am excited for the game. For me, affordability is key. I'd say ~5 per episode to equal $20 individually and $15 for the full game upfront would be the sweet spot for me.

Honestly if it was $4 an episode I would purchase w/o thinking. If it is $5-10 an episode I will be a bit more cautious. I know you have put alot of hard work into this game and price is always tough. I'm just being honest in terms of my current game/money situation

7 an episode seems solid. Season Pass for 20 would be ideal. I have played other episodic games (cough cough TellTale cough) where I lost interest after 2 episodes. So this is just my opinion on price.

4.99 per episode. Season pass 15. Really depends on content though. I suppose it would be good at 6 per episode and 20 for season pass. . Regardless of what model you choose I wish you the best. You guys make some really fun games!

Man this is hard. First thought that came to mind was $5 an episode $10 for the season pass to make $15 total $20 ala carte. But you guys need to get paid for all your hard work. Then again it's the old saying sell 1 game for a million or a million games for a buck. But I personally would pay up to full retail for all episodes as I know the quality you push.

Five Dollars an episode would be a for sure sale for me. Anything more and it will become a wait and see type game for me like bomb monkey and the atv game.

There are just so many games on so many systems anymore. Unless it's something I just am dying to have, it's just too easy to pass things over if I feel I can get more quality time/fun for less money elsewhere.

If you check other episodical games like Walking Dead: Season 2 (on app store) for example, it is 5 episodes where the first episode costs $4,99 and the season pass costs $14,99 (ep. 2-5) with separate episodes still costs $4,99. So in total that's $19,98 with the season pass and $24,95 whithout. Something like that but a little more per episode since there are fewer. Maybe $6-7 per episode and around $15 for a season

The sad thing is, full retail, AAA titles roughly cost $10-$20 per hour according to his standards, and when put into perspective, it's bull. I understand a lot of work goes into such games like CoD and GTA, but after spending $60 USD to 100% a game in one sitting, it's like stealing. Replay value should not be a factor, ever, as anybody who wants to replay a game would do so on their free will. By his standards, I've gotten more out of my 3ds games costing $35-$40 than most ps3 game I've purchased the past 2 years.

I understand you want to make your titles according to your standards, but taking 3 years to make a 3 hour long game to sell at $30-$60 is not a fair trade to consumers.

I think the game should be $4.99 a episode and then off the season pass at $11.99(since that is only 3 episodes?). I don't know the production cost of this game, so I maybe pricing it way to low. But, I don't think you should go over $6 a episode.

It feels like it's a little to low but I don't really see me paying more than $5.

I would probably pay whatever you asked, but I think a reasonable episodic pricing model for the 3DS would be something like 3-5$ per episode and 12-15 for the season pass. This doesn't add up quite right and yet it 'feels' right. Let me look a little deeper.

2.99 for 2-4 hours of gameplay would be a steal. 3.99 would probably be a happy medium. 4.99 would be acceptable but I fear the average buyer may consider it steep for a single episode.

12.99 for a season pass, if the episodes are ordinarily 4.99 and the season pass includes the final 3, would be enough of a price break to seem perfectly reasonable (and it makes the total spent 17.99 which averages 4.50 per episode, a 10% savings). 10.99 if the episodes were 3.99 would also be fine (totaling 14.99, average 3.75, ~8% savings).

The more I think about it the more the numbers barely seem to make sense, but the perceived value and savings is still there. Whew, this is tricky.

Also I'd rather wait till the final episode is out before buying. I like to play the game at my own pace, so I'm not too big on episodic because that means I have to wait months in between releases and I forget what's going on, what I'm doing. I understand why you're going episodic, and I think it's a good idea for this game, just wanted to make you aware that some of us will wait until the final episode is out before we purchase.

given that in your words every episode will be 2-4 hours, It'd be for the best to simply go for a more accessible price point. Really, no amount of sugarcoating would make those 2-4 hours sound like a good investment if you were to put it at a higher price point. You just need to look at what happened to MGS:Ground Zeroes...

I'd have been willing to pay more for a whole new game (up to 10€/chapter), but I have already played Moon, so going over 20€ for the whole thing would be a deal breaker.Also I'm not a fan of the episodic system, but whatever.

I'd pay $3 easily per episode, but from a business perspective, $5 per episodes seems best. At $3, "season pass" should cost $10At $5, "season pass" should cost $18.Ive never played the original, and I don't know what to expect from the guys of Mutant Mudds doing a FPS, but if previous players say it's worth every penny, "season pass should be no more than $30, with each episode being $7.

I should have read full details before commenting.... Wish I could edit....

My season pass prices are in regards of total package (episodes 1-4), so with my "newfound knowledge", my season pass suggested prices should be $7, $11, or $21.

Also,despite my hesitant sounding previous comment, I am fully behind Renegade with this project. I am looking forward to this series, and even purchased a Circle Pad Pro XL specifically for this game.

I'm super duper poor right now, but when episode one comes out, I will buy it.

Maybe do a sale price for episode one during it's first week, to really get people to try it. $5 week 1, then $7 otherwise, with the rest at $7. & the season pass at $14? A season pass giving you one for "free" is a pretty enticing thang..

Been waiting for you to keep 1 comment so I can reply (I got an email every time). XD

the introductory idea is actually really good, and I remember a few eShop titles doing it in the past. With that in mind, $6 for the first 2 weeks, then $10 for normal price. Have a season pass sale for the same thing. $20 for the first 2 weeks, $30-35 for normal price. Those anticipating this will snatch the pass immediately for cheap, as will those unaware of this, then if it's as great as I hope it will be, those biting due to praise will shell out cuz "It's a must have".

I'm not fond of the extreme price gap, but the intro sale and normal price mite be a sound idea

I'd say $5 for each episode sounds fair (So $20 in total).For the season pass I'd say $10 that way you if you get that it costs $15.

I also think you should sell the season pass when you launch Episode 1 because people might forget about the game by the time the next episode comes out. If you do that, putting it on sale for ≤$8 for a couple weeks after launch might be smart too so people feel better about paying for something that doesn't exist yet.